Always Doesn't Mean Forever
by LoveJL
Summary: Lily has always, ALWAYS hated everything about James Potter, from his unkept hair to his shiny black shoes. So why is he suddenly taking her breathe away? When it comes to love, AND hate, Lily starts to realize that sometimes always isn't for forever.
1. Hopelessly Lost

I want to start out with this warning: characters might be slightly AU. With that said, hi, my name is Jamie-Lynn, but I go by Jamie. This is my very, very, very first story _ever _and I would be lying if I tried to tell you I wasn't the least bit excited. I'm mostly looking forward to hearing everyone's input on this, so… yippee! Here you go now.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything… but I wish I owned James Potter

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Chapter 1: Hopelessly Lost 

A first time story by: Jamie-Lynn Love

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Lily Evans had a very nice and caring disposition. A calm demeanor, stunning looks and grades to top it all off. She prided herself in having complete control over her emotions. Never once had she let anyone ruffle her feather in a way she would not enjoy. Never one, that is, until she met the man-whore extraordinaire James Potter.

Two Months Ago 

"Lily, come on, don't be rash!" James Potter managed to choke out between sudden fits of uncontrolled laughter. "I apologized to you, did I not?" he asked bewilderedly, ignoring his best friend Sirius Black, who was writhing on the floor below him, clutching his sides in glee. For the Marauders had struck again.

"Are you _serious?_" Lily seethed. James could practically see the steam coming out of her ear.

"No, _I'm _Sirius," Sirius announced, which just caused him to go into another fit of uncontrollable laughter. Behind him, Remus Lupin was leaning against the brick wall barrier, trying to conceal a grin, while Peter Pettigrew had a broad smile on his rat like face.

"Shut up," Lily hissed, turning her attention once more to Potter. "This," she began, her finger shaking in fury, "is _the _last straw," she declared. "I'm not taking any more of your **bull** ever again, you hear me?"

James eyes followed to where Lily's finger was directed, and couldn't conceal a smirk. After a few hours of planning, and a very well placed spell, the boys had succeeded in turning Lily Evan's normally radiantly auburn hair to an alarming shade of "flamingo pink" complete with bright green eyebrows, and turquoise arm hair.

"Oh, fine, be rash," James sighed, and with a flick of his wand, all was restored to normal. "There, are you happy?" he said, flashing her a smile.

"No!" Lily exclaimed, gathering up the rest of her things as she placed them on her trolley. "I'm so tired of this Potter! I'm so tired of _you!_"

"Now, now, Lily, calm yourself," James started, looking Lily deep in the eyes. Although there was amusement in his voice, he gazed out at Lily with nothing but seriousness. "This would all stop if -"

"Don't even _bother _finishing that sentence Potter, because the answer will always remain the same. NO! I would rather go out with –"

"The giant squid? Face it Lily, you're quickly running out of suitors, because by now I reckon even the giant squid wouldn't give you a chance. When would you ever go out with me, Lily?"

The laughter died immediately. Anybody in their right mind knew that insulting a riled up Lily Evans would result in their death. Everybody seemed to know that, that is, excluding James Potter.

"_I… would… never… go… out… with… an… egotistical… prick… like… you." _Lily growled, her hands balling into fists. "Don't you understand Potter? You've gone out with almost every single girl in the castle, and it's only the end of 5th year, thank the lord, because I don't think I could stand another minute with a sorry excuse of a wizard like yourself. You strut around the castle like you own the place, and expect every girl, _and _boy to bow down to your feet. You have the biggest head of anybody I've ever met… you run around jovially pulling pranks to the expense of everybody else," she once more gestured to her hair before continuing, "and you're one of the most childish and immature wankers I've ever had the displeasure to meet. Maybe when you change all of that around, _maybe _I'd CONSIDER going out with you. Until then, shut up and move on," Lily finished, her eyes narrowing into slits.

Everybody within 5 feet of the group was speechless, waiting for James' witty remark. But, surprisingly, he didn't lash out at her. He merely said, with amusement shining in his dancing hazel eyes,

"So, Lily Flower… if I do all that, it's a yes then?"

That was enough to send Sirius and Peter over the edge again. Remus just shook his head in disbelief, a smile taking over his handsome features.

"No." Lily said simply. "Goodbye, Remus, Peter, Sirius… _Potter_," she said, before turning on her heal, lugging her trolley along behind her. "I'll see you in a few months."

And with that, she was gone.

End Of Flashback 

Lily sighed, as she recalled that memory. Currently, she was sitting on her bed, her trunk out in front of her, checking off the list of things she needed before her return to Hogwarts. She would now be entering her 6th year, and was planning on working incessantly hard for the Head Girl badge.

"Prefect Badge?" she wondered aloud to herself, searching around the black hole that was currently her bedroom floor. A small glittering object caught her eye from the ground. "Check… dress robes?" The mass of green that her badge was resting on showed Lily that her robes were indeed inside of the correct trunk. "Check, check, check" she muttered, crossing off the rest of the items she needed.

Yawning, she looked over at the clock, and instantly cursed herself. It was already 1:30 in the morning, and she had to be awake by 7 to leave the house if she wanted to make it onto the Hogwart's Express on time. Sighing, she lay her head down on her pillow, thinking to herself of what was to become of her life tomorrow.

"You will _not _allow James to bother you this year," she told her mind insistently, a stubborn look on her gorgeous face.

"_Shit,"_ she thought suddenly. "_I did _not _just refer to POTTER as James… did I?"_

Pushing that unsettling thought from her head, she continued to berate herself for allowing **Potter **access to her mind previous years, and made a silent pact to herself not to let him rile her up this coming year. With that calming thought burrowed deep within her mind, she switched off the lamp beside her bed. Her emerald eyes were fluttered closed, and she was deep asleep before her auburn hair had time to even hit the pillow.

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James Potter was deep in thought, something totally out of the normal for him. James Potter didn't _think. _He acted on impulse… which sometimes got him in trouble, but most of the time rewarded him with many a laugh, and even more admirers then he had acquired already. But, at this precise moment, James Potter was deep in thought of none other then the fiery tempered red head, aka object of his obsession, Lily Evans. 

"Prongsie, old boy," Sirius said jovially, jerking James away from his daydream. "Mum had made us some dashing cookies, if I do say so myself, and I'm afraid that if you don't snatch one up now, your old boy might just stuff them away," Sirius announced, flopping down next to James on his bed.

Picking up a cookie, James turned to stare at his oldest and best friend, Sirius Black. After learning about the problems Sirius had at home, James' mother immediately insisted on having Sirius move in with James. Both boys had immediately complied, and within a week, Sirius and all of his glory arrived on the Potter's front step, becoming a part of the family. He had even taken to calling James' mother Mum. She blushed with joy every time she heard him say it.

"Oh no," Sirius said, giving James the brow. "Is Jamesie thinking about a certain girl named Lilykins again? Is it time to pull out… _the book?_"

"Shove it, Padfoot," James said, laying down on his bed again as he polished off the last of his cookie. The book was a journal James kept, where he jotted down descriptions of every girl he had ever dated, kissed, or done _more _with (involving some bed-sheets and naked bodies) and what he thought of them, before _and _after.

Of course, James' journal was top secret. Everybody knew he _had _one of course… but nobody knew what was inside of it, excluding Padfoot of course, who had stumbled upon it while he was putting away some of his belonging upon first moving in. Sadly enough, curiosity killed the cat… er, dog… and he had a minute's glance at it before James barged in.

Needless to say, _nobody_ had ever read it, especially girls.

Cue the claws ladies, and fight for your man!

"Will do," Padfoot answered in mock despair, rolling over to his bed, which was placed side by side with James' own king size. Of course James' was big enough for the both of them to sleep in comfortably, but come now… they're MEN… and no man, not even a wizard, can muster up enough courage to sleep in the same bed with his best male mate… except, of course, for James' mother's good friend Lee, who prided himself in his great sense of fashion, and carried a man bag (NOT A PURSE, as he always insisted) around with him everywhere he went. James shuddered at the thought.

"I don't know man, I don't know…" Sirius whispered, turning to face James in the dark room/ "Lily isn't turning you soft now, is she? Will you still find enough time to play around with little old Prongsiepoo and your furry little friend? Alas, or is this finally the end of our grand adventures? Through, finito, are we?" Once again, Sirius gave him the teasing brow, arching one over the other. His chocolate hair fell into his face, partially masking his striking blue eyes.

"If you think I'm not planning on pranking those Slytherins to kingdom come this year, dear Padfoot, then you are sorely mistaken…" James smiled, his playful side coming out again. "I just wouldn't mind doing it with Lily on my side…" he said, his words trailing off.

Sirius frowned. "I hate to say it James, but maybe you and Lily just aren't right for each other after all… I mean, it's been two sodding years, and if this girl hasn't fallen for you yet, then I reckon you better just give up. Besides, her friend Emma is quite a looker, isn't she?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Quite cute," James agreed, sighing. "But she's no Lily."

"Yes, well, nobody could really amount to Lily, could they? I'll admit, she's really filled out over the summer," Sirius said, winking. "But seriously, down to the _really_ important business… exactly **what kind of pranks** are we speaking of here?"

And for the rest of the night before September 1st, the start of their 6th years, they spoke of their plans for the year, not including girls.

Yet, as James laid his head down on his pillow, willing his brain to allow sleep to take over, he couldn't shake the vision of a visually stunning red headed emerald eyed girl from his mind.

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A/N: Well, what can I say? Every story needs a start, so there's mine. I hope you all really enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it for you. Reviews would be lovely. By the way… rest assured, it'll get better, longer, and all of the stuff you're really hoping for. I'm well along in the story, on my 5th chapter actually… you won't be disappointed. Reviews will… ahem… inspire me to write _and _update quickly. Thanks! 


	2. An Unexpected Encounter Part 1

…OMG! Omg, omg, omg… you guys **rock**. I woke up today expecting to see no reviews, and what did I see?** An inbox full of them**! Well, ok, that was an exaggeration. More like ten reviews. But seriously, I wasn't expecting any, and for that, I'm updating really fast! I don't really like the authors who wait weeks on end to update, so I'll try my hardest to update like once a week. So cheers for Jamie! Here you go.

Disclaimer: Zero… sadly.

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Chapter 2: An Unexpected Encounter (Part 1)

Always Doesn't Mean Forever

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"Oh my god… I can't believe how hot he is!" Screeched a very excited Emma McCleave (finally breaking the silence), clutching on to Lily's arm as she began to hop up and down from anxiousness. "And look! He's spotted us!" She screamed in delight.

Lily instantly froze. They had seen them looking at them? Oh god… this couldn't be good. For the love of fizzing whizbees.

Emma's face contorted terribly as she realized what was happening. "Oh no… they've spotted us!" she suddenly turned bright red as she ran her hands through her hair worriedly. "LILY!" she screamed, shaking her friend violently. "Think of something to do! You're the smart one!"

"Why don't you ask Sarah? She's had the most experience with… with boys" Lily said, faltering on the word boys. Her chest had clogged up, and she could feel her breathing becoming ragged. She was referring, of course, to their other friend. Lily's brain had gone unusually blank… something that occasionally occurred to her when she was under pressure.

But Sarah was just staring at the door, open mouthed, as a figure approached the door of the compartment. Lily could faintly see a shadow of a hand reaching out to the door-handle. The real panic started when she saw the knob turning, slowly. She felt like she was stuck in a horror movie, but she was too excited to see what was going to happen next to run away. Slowly, the door slid open a crack, to reveal a tall and toned man.

"Hello, ladies," the boy said, grinning happily. "What can I do for you all today?"

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Two Hours Earlier 

Her auburn ringlets were flying out behind her as Lily Evans made her way to King's Cross-station, at platform 9 ¾. She barely had 5 minutes to make it onto the Hogwart's Express. Despite the fact that she had woken up 2 hours prior to this, it took much longer then the Evan's had anticipated for them to get to the station, which resulted in Lily running late.

"Sorry," she muttered as she scurried into a random passenger awaiting another train in her hurry. She quickly dodged numerous people in the station, as she wheeled her trolley around to face the brick wall between the platforms 9 and 10. Without giving it a second thought, she confidently ran through the barrier, transporting her from the muggle station to the magical Hogwart's Express.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she began to mosey her way up to the train's steps when she heard her name being hollered out at her from behind. Turning quickly, she was delighted to see one of her two best friends, Emma McCleave weaving her way through the crowd towards her.

"LILY!" She screeched, taking a running leap to her friend, engrossing her in a monster hug. Her long blonde hair cascaded down her back, in small soft curls. She looked like an angel in Lily's opinion.

"Oh my gosh! I haven't seen you forever! I can_not_ believe how incredibly different you look!" she added with a grin, giving Lily a once over, including a nod of approval. "You look great sweetie… You won't even be able to imagine how much I missed you," she added as an afterthought, picking up some of Lily's trunks, lugging them up onto the train. "Hurry up… Sarah's waiting for you."

By Sarah, Emma was referring to Sarah Johnston, Lily's other best friend, completing their golden trio. Giddy with excitement, she quickly took some luggage and ran after her friend.

"Lil!" Once again, Lily found her self getting bombarded with hugs as Sarah ran up to her. Laughing, Lily disentangled herself from Sarah, taking a quick second to admire her medium length brunette locks, finally settling herself on a bench.

"So… tell me everything that's happened with you guys." Lily stated.

Within seconds, Sarah and Emma busied themselves with filling Lily in on every detail of their lives over summer without her. Conversations varied from summer romance, clothes, trips to the states, getting past first base, and books… but before long, the trio finally focused on a favorite subject.

"So," Sarah said, wiggling her perfectly waxed eyebrows as she gazed out at her two friends with gorgeous brown eyes. "What do you guys say to taking a little tour of the Gryffindor boys… see how they filled out over the summer?" she suggested, grinning like a mad woman, her almost black hair shining magnificently in the sunlight.

The girls bounded out of the compartment immediately, skipping down the halls, occasionally peeking into random people's rooms, exchanging thumbs up when they found somebody that appealed to them.

After making rounds through a few hallways, Lily and Sarah were starting to get a little tired of the game.

"You know, maybe we should head back now…" Sarah announced, thinking of the cauldron cakes lined up and waiting for them. "We've been doing this for…"

But how long they'd been doing it for, they'd never know, as Sarah was standing stock still, staring obviously into a compartment.

"Oh. My. God." She whispered, putting a hand over her heart as she squinted her eyes to get a better view of the occupants inside of the glass door. "I can't believe it… I can't sodding believe it."

This captured her two friends' interests instantly, causing Lily and Emma to push each other out of the way to see what was entrancing Sarah in such a way. Emma, with a smirk on her face, succeeded, and turned to look inside of the compartment. Her reaction was similar to Sarah's.

Lily was getting put out, and a little exasperated that she couldn't see what treasures lay inside of the mystery compartment. Finally, she shoved Emma out of the way, and peered inside. It was then that she understood.

Inside of the compartment were the three most handsome men she had ever laid her emerald eyes on. What surprised her the most was who they were.

None other then James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. Peter was inside of the compartment too, but nobody was really to be bothered with him.

"Look at them," Emma breathed, blinking a few times, as if to make sure the beautiful people weren't just an illusion her mind was playing on her.

As soon as Emma spoke, Sarah's eyes unglued themselves from the three boys and shook her head. "I can't believe I'm _checking out _the Marauder's…" she whispered, seemingly disgusted with herself. "I _hate _those bloody gits. Come on, Lily… let's leaving Emma to her drooling self." She turned on her heel and started to walk away, before realizing that Lily wasn't following.

Because Lily was still looking inside at the men.

"_That chocolate hair… his toned muscles, and what amazing blue eyes… when did Sirius get to be so hot?" _She thought to herself. If she was in her right mind, Lily would have instantly stopped staring like a mesmerized schoolgirl, but Lily wasn't in her right mind… she was currently only thinking of one man. And that man was Sirius Black.

(Back To Present...)

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A/N: Oh yeah! All about the element of surprise, right guys? Yes, I know, you think you didn't read it right… but rest assured, you did! Lily is thinking of… Sirius Black. Not James Potter. But worry not, because this _is _a Lily/James fiction… this is all part of the plot . And I hope after reading that, you won't abandon this fiction. Because I have plenty of surprised up my sleeve! Yay Jamie! Yay cliffhanger! Yay reviews! (Or I'm hoping I'll be able to say yay if I see any in my lonely inbox.) Well, I'll be posting part 2 in a few days, so stay tuned. Oh, and one last thing… I'm terribly sorry that this chapter is so short, but it's "part 1." Part two is at least two, maybe three times longer. With that said, lots of love and inbox's full of reviews from happy readers.

- Jamie-Lynn Love


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